W. E. B. Du Bois
1868 – 1963 American sociologist, historian, civil rights leader
American scholar who argued for liberal higher education and full rights for Black Americans.
- Religion
- Raised Congregationalist, later agnostic.
- Affiliations
- Co-founded the NAACP; taught at Atlanta University.
W. E. B. Du Bois was the first Black American to earn a doctorate from Harvard and a founder of the NAACP. He argued that a Talented Tenth of college educated leaders was essential to Black advancement, opposing Booker T. Washington's focus on vocational training. His writing, including The Souls of Black Folk, shaped debates over education and civil rights for generations.
Connections
- rival of Booker T. Washington — Clashed over vocational versus liberal higher education for Black Americans.
- rival of Booker T. Washington — Opposed Washington's accommodationism and vocational emphasis.
- associate of Mary McLeod Bethune — Allied in the cause of Black education.
- associate of Mary McLeod Bethune — Allied in the movement for Black education and civil rights.
In the timeline
- 1900 First Pan-African Conference mentioned
- 1900 First Pan-African Conference in London mentioned
- 1900 First Pan-African Conference meets in London mentioned
- 1909 NAACP founded mentioned
- 1919 First Pan-African Congress meets during the Paris peace talks mentioned
- 1920 UNIA convention adopts the Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples mentioned
- 1945 Du Bois presides over the Manchester congress mentioned